1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a relatively low cost, stereo dispensing container (e.g. a disposable caulking cartridge) and to an efficient system by which two different materials may be simultaneously expulsed from a single container in predetermined proportions relative to one another.
2. Background Art
It is frequently necessary to mix together different ingredients according to a particular ratio in order to form a composite material which depends upon a precise introduction of one ingredient to the other. For example, a catalyst and a resin are mixed together to form a fast hardening epoxy. A proper ratio of catalyst to resin is required to speed the curing and form a hard, durable epoxy. The catalyst and resin are presently carried in separate containers or tubes. The user must carefully dispense the catalyst and resin from their respective containers while making sure that the correct amounts of each will be mixed together. This is often a slow and cumbersome process and frequently results in both wasteful mistakes and inefficiency due to the duplication of activities (i.e. two containers are opened, two plungers are pushed or two tubes are squeezed, two fluid supplies are progressively mixed together, etc.).
To overcome some of the aforementioned inefficiencies, stereo dispensers have been used by which to simultaneously dispense two different materials from separate storage compartments. These dispensers resemble a syringe, but include a pair of piston assemblies that are interconnected for simultaneous movement through the respective storage compartments in which the materials to be dispensed are stored. While the piston assemblies are advantageously moved together, there is no inexpensive or easy way to change the ratio of the materials dispensed as a result of such movement. Moreover, the conventional stereo dispensers are relatively complex in construction, thereby using a greater number of component parts which results in a correspondingly increased cost of manufacture.
Examples of known dispensers, including those described above, are available by referring to one or more of the following U.S. Pat. Nos.:
3,013,697 issued Dec. 19, 1961 to Wilber Gill; PA1 3,330,444 issued Jul. 11, 1967 to Kenneth Raypholtz; PA1 4,014,463 issued Mar. 29, 1977 to Paul Hermann; PA1 4,069,091 issued Jan. 17, 1978 to Dick van Manen; PA1 4,205,766 issued Jun. 3, 1980 to Douglas White; and PA1 5,203,839 issued Apr. 20, 1993 to Kenneth Skaggs.